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Police nab trio of burglary suspects
Bill O'Connell 12.MAY.04

Stolen goods located in San Antonio home


FLORESVILLE — Police looking for a burglary suspect were surprised recently when two other alleged burglars came to them.

The men drove past police, who were staking out the home of another burglary suspect. All three men were arrested within minutes of each other.

"This has been a joint investigation between the Floresville Police Department, the Wilson County Sheriff’s Department, and the 81st Judicial District Narcotics Task Force," Floresville police Detective Chad Clark said.

Arrested were Floresville residents Isaac Castillo and Juan Ortiz Jr., both 19. Ortiz was charged with three counts of burglary of a habitation and is being held in lieu of bonds totaling $85,000. Castillo is being held in lieu of a $40,000 bond on a count of burglary of a building, according to county jail records.

Roy Marroquin Jr., 17, of Floresville, was taken into custody on a juvenile probation warrant and later charged with one count of burglary of a habitation. Marroquin’s bond was set at $40,000.

The three men remained in custody Monday.

A review of police reports from the Floresville Police Department and the Wilson County Sheriff’s Department provided an outline of the investigations.

Officers with both agencies had been conducting independent investigations into a number of burglaries that had occurred in town and in the rural areas of the county.

During three separate burglaries that occurred between February and April, several thousand dollars worth of computer equipment was taken from a Floresville business and homes in the Eagle Creek area and the Bentwood subdivision. Other items reported stolen during the break-ins included guitars, compact discs, DVDs, cash, and jewelry.

Floresville police received the first break in the case when they received a tip from Wilson County Sheriff’s Deputy Martin Rodriguez.

Information furnished by Rodriguez, who works for the county’s hot check department, led authorities to a network of at least two suspected burglars and a San Antonio "fence" who paid for stolen goods that were linked to the local break-ins.

Floresville police officers and agents for the 81st Judicial District Narcotics Task Force — accompanied by the Alamo Area Narcotics Task Force — then went to a home in San Antonio to look for stolen property. Authorities were granted permission by the homeowner to search the residence.

Stolen computers and fax machines were turned up in the search, and the "fence" told authorities that Castillo had brought the items to the home and sold them, Clark said.

The San Antonio man also told investigators he purchased a computer system from Ortiz, and further investigation indicated the equipment was taken in a burglary being investigated by deputies.

"He had property from the Eagle Creek burglary," said Investigator Gary Laughlin of the Wilson County Sheriff’s Department.

Police officers then obtained an arrest warrant for Castillo, while deputies obtained arrest warrants for Ortiz and Marroquin.

On April 28, just a few days after getting the information from Rodriguez, police officers staked out Castillo’s home to serve the warrant, according to reports. But before they could arrest him, officers saw Ortiz drive by in a Ford Mustang, and stopped the vehicle. The officers arrested Ortiz and Marroquin, who was a passenger in the car.

Police then returned to Castillo’s home and, after receiving consent from the homeowner to search the residence, found Castillo in a bedroom and arrested him without incident.

Castillo allegedly confessed to burglarizing an office at the River Bend subdivision by prying open a door at night and taking computers and office equipment, Clark said.

Ortiz allegedly confessed to a July 2003 burglary on 11th Street in which he took a jar containing money, according to a police report.

boconnell@wcn-online.com
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